HAVERHILL — The 37-year-old woman accused of injuring a Haverhill Police officer with a car has been indicted by a grand jury on multiple charges, with her last pretrial appearance set for Monday.
A Grafton County grand jury indicted Christina Garrison, 37, on four of the 23 charges against her from the same incident: two Class B felony counts of second-degree assault, one Class B felony count of reckless conduct and one Class A misdemeanor count of simple assault.
Since the case was bound over from Haverhill Circuit Court, the Grafton County Attorney’s Office has dropped two felonies to misdemeanors and two misdemeanors to violations. Three charges were dropped entirely.
According to an affidavit Officer Ty Brown filed in Haverhill Circuit Court, Brown was conducting a welfare check on Central Street in Woodsville, a village in Haverhill, on March 27 when he saw Garrison slumped over the steering wheel of a blue Nissan SUV.
When she didn’t respond to knocking, Brown opened the driver’s side door to shake her awake, the affidavit said. He reported seeing drug paraphernalia and an open alcoholic beverage in the vehicle. Garrison identified herself as Kristina Henderson but gave her real date of birth, according to the affidavit.
Another Haverhill officer, Joel Barton, arrived and approached the passenger side door as Brown returned to his cruiser. Barton saw Garrison trying to put her keys in the ignition, the affidavit said.
Despite orders to get out of the vehicle, Garrison backed out of the parking spot and the passenger side door knocked Barton to the ground, according to the affidavit. The vehicle then dragged him and nearly ran over him, the affidavit stated.
Garrison fled, but Vermont State Police found her across the border in Wells River and arrested her on earlier Vermont charges and as a fugitive from justice.
Because a judge found probable cause that Garrison committed felonies on March 27, the case moved from circuit court to Grafton Superior Court on April 22.
Each of the three Class B felonies — second-degree assault for serious bodily injury, second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and reckless conduct with a deadly weapon — carries up to seven years in prison and a $4,000 fine. The simple assault charge carries a maximum of one year and a $2,000 fine.
Barton was on light duty as of May 25 and would remain so until he finished rehabilitation, Chief David Appleby said at the time.
Appleby did not respond by deadline to a message Thursday asking about Barton’s current condition. Neither Garrison’s public defender, Monica Gasey, nor Grafton County Attorney Martha Ann Hornick responded by deadline to phone messages seeking comment.
Garrison’s bail order, approved in court Sept. 14, calls for continued detention. She is held at the Grafton County Department of Corrections. The final pretrial is set for Monday at 9 a.m. at Grafton Superior Court in North Haverhill.
